Series socket with renewable elements



May 14, 1935.

R. B. BENJAMIN SERIES SOCKET WITH RENEWABLE ELEMENTS Filed April 14, 1930 ZSheets-Sheet 1 May 14, 1935. R. B. BENJAMIN SERIES SOCKET WITH RENEWABLE ELEMENTS 2 Shets-Sheet 2 Filed April 14, 1930 Patented May 14, 1935 UNITED sTr s SERIES SOCKET WITH RENEWABLE ELEMENTS V Reuben 3. Benjamin, Chicago, Ill., assi nor to Benjamin Electric Manufacturing Company, Des Plaines, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application April 14, 1930, Serial No. 443,937

5 Claims.

having removable elements.

More particularly this invention relates to an electric light socket 5 having a base comprising a plurality of sections with the wiring terminals on one section and the side and center contacts attached to one of the other sections and electrically connected to the wiring terminals. Contact blades are secured to both the side and center sockets which, when the socket is assembled, engage contacts carried in the outer section with the wiring terminals and connected therewith.

An object of this invention is toprovide a socket comprising a plurality of sections with the wiring terminals attached to an outer section and one of the other sections carrying the lamp contacts so that they may be removed and replaced in the event the contacts. attached thereto become damaged by arcing, or from any other cause, without the necessity of disconnecting the lead wires from the wiring terminals.

Where several lamps are connected in series in a. circuit, such as a 600 volt circuit, the lamp contacts of the socket are frequently damaged due to an are being formed between the socket contacts and the lamp contacts, particularly between the center contacts.

In the ordinary placing the damaged parts.

With any socket embodying the present invention, if a. contact becomes damaged, it is only necessary to replace the section of the socket carrying the contact with a new section without disconnecting the wiring terminals from the wires, or removing the socket from the fixture supporting member to which it is attached- The sections of the present socket are held in an assembled position by two screws so that to replace a section it is only necessary to remove the two screws, replace the damaged section with a new one, and replace and tighten the screwsa1l of which may be done while the lead wires are connected to the wiring terminals of the socket. Thus, the more frequently damaged and least expensive parts may be easily and inexpensively replaced.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a socket in which the possibility of arcing is reduced to a minimum and any arcing that might occur is confined to the lamp cavity.

The wiring terminals to which the lead wires are connected are so far removed and protected from the lamp contacts that there is no possibility of the wiring terminals or lead wires connected theretobeing burned or damaged by arcing between the lamp and socket contacts. In order to prevent arcing between the conductors connecting the contacts to the wiring termina1s,- the conductors are extended through separate openings inthe intermediate basesection of the socket. Thus the possibility of any arcing is confined to the lamp cavity where the arc will affect only parts that may be easily removed.- To reduce the arcing in the lamp cavity between the side and centercontacts the center contact is widely spaced from the shell. A still further object of the present invention is to provide a socket in which the wiring terminals are-protected from the heat caused by the lamp inpthe socket. The intermediate base section which separates the wiring terminals from the lamp cavity is made of heat insulating material, and there is very little air circulation to carry heat to the wiring terminals by convection of the air. Furthermore the distance between the contacts, and the wiring terminals allows much of the heat that would be carried to the wiring terminalsto dissipate.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will be morereadily apparent from the following detailed descriptiontogethen with the accompanying drawings, in which latter:

Figure, 1 is a side .elevational view, partly in section of the assembled socket and the securing screws; Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the upper section of the socket;

Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2, and showing the center contact and sections connecting the center contact to a wiring terminal;

Fig. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional'view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2 and showing the side contact and connections. connecting the sid contact to a wiring terminal;

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the middle section offthe socket, showing the side and center contacts and the contact blades attached thereto;

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a wiring terminal and a contact connected thereto with a contact blade engaging the contact;

- Fig. is a perspective View of the shell con tact and flange and a contact blade; 5

Fig. 8 is a bottom plan view taken on the line '8- 8 of Fig.-1 and showing the wiring terminals,

Fig. 9 is a bottom plan view of the middle section of the socket taken on the line 99 of Fig. 1.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the present construction comprises a socket I having a top section or base 2,-a middle section or base 3 and a bottom section or base 4 each made of insulating material. The top section 2 is provided with an annular flange 5 which fits into the annular groove 6 formed in the top of the middle section, and the-middle section .3 is likewise provided with 'an annular flange I which fits into the annular, groove 8 provided in the top of the bottom section Referring particularly to Figsf2: and 6, the top section 2 carries the wiring terminals and a spring contact connected to each of the wir-' ing terminals. Terminal screws 9 are threaded into terminal plates l which are held in recesses in the bottom side of the top section 2 by means of screws 1a which are inserted through the top of the top section 2 and threaded into threaded openings provided therefor in the terminal plates lfl. Spring contacts II are likewise carriedin recesses provided in the bottom of the upper section 2 and are held in place also by the screws 1w which pass therethrough before being threaded into the threaded openings of the terminal plates-l0. l

The spring contacts II are of the type such as are used in the ordinary knife switch. The lead wires for connection with the; terminal screws 9 are inserted from thetop of the top section 2, through holes I2 therein which are formed at each end of the groove' l3, and then connected to the wiring terminals bythe terminal screws 9.

The middle section 3 'of the socket is preferably made of heat insulating material such as procelain, although any. other suitable material may be used, so as to prevent the heat in the lampcavity from affecting the wiring terminals. This section carries the side and center contacts and the contact blades attached thereto for electrically connectingthe side'and center contacts with the wiring-terminals, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The shell: contact l4 iscrimped toa shell'flange l5 for securing the shell contact M to the middle section-3i I A'contactblade I6, extending substantially straight upward, is attached to the shell flange I5, being preferably formed integrally therewith-The shell flange I5 is eyeletted to the middle section3 of the socket by means of eyelets i! so that the contact'blade I6 will engage oneof-the spring contacts H. The center contact I8 is attached at one end to the topfiof the middlesection 3 and then is bent down through an opening provided in the middle section 3 into the recess provided in the bottom of :the middle section 3 so as to form a resilient contact.

with a threaded opening adjacent one end. A screw 28 is extended through an opening pro,- vided' therefor in the middle section 3 and passes up through a hole in the upper end of the center contact l8 and then threads into the threaded opening provided in the contact blade 19, thereby securing the center contact l8 and the contact blade I9 to the middle section 3. When thus secured, the'upper end of the con .tact blade 19 is adaptedto; engage the other lpermanently secured to the top section 2.

R 2,001,376 terminal plates and the spring contacts; and

thereof, through which the shell contact l4, attached to the middle section 3, extends. Various types of bottom sections or bases may be used with the same upper sections or bases, depending upon the purpose for which the socket is to be employed and the size of lamp to be used. The three sections, 2,3 and. 4, of the socket are held together by means of screws 2| which are inserted from the bottom of section ,4 and extend up through the middle section 3 and thread into threaded members 22 which are With the above described construction, if either the side or-center contact is damaged, it may be easily "replaced by removing the screws 2| and then replacingthe middle section, after which the screws 2! are reinserted. All of this may be done without disconnecting the wires from the wiring terminals or without removing the top section 2, in which the wiring terminals are placed, from the fixture supporting means to which'it is attached.

In theclaims where I have used the expression quick detachable contacts, it is to be understood as defining a contact having a quick detachable engagement and disengagement with respect to its cooperating contact blade.

While I have shown and described but one embodiment of the present invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that it may be embodied in still other forms without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention, and I' desire, therefore, that this invention be limited only by the prior art and the scope of the appended claims.

r I claim:

1. A high voltage series socket construction comprising a three-part insulating base including upper, intermediate and lower coaxial cylindrical portions, anchorage nuts, twowiring terminals and two blade-engaging contacts all mounted on the upper base portion, said wiring terminals being accessible for wiring from the lower side of said base'portion, a shell contact, a center contact and two contact-engaging blades all mounted on'the intermediate base portion, the lowerbase portion having a central recess to receive the shell contact, and screws spaced about the shell contact and extending through the lower base portion and intermediate base portion and threaded into said anchorage nuts for securing the lower base portion and the intermediate base portion and the parts carried thereby to the upper base portion, said screws being accessible for operation from the lower side of the lower base portion and said center contact'and itscorresponding blade having juxtaposed base portions and a screw. extending through said intermediatebase. portion and the base portion of the centercontactand threaded t' fthe blade. A right-angled contact blade I9 is provided base por Ion O 2.,A high voltage series socket construction comprising a wiring base and contact member,

a pair of wiring terminals mounted thereon, a

pair of quick detachable contacts also mounted thereonin electrical connection with said wiring, terminals, respectively, said wiring base having a pair of recesses therein for said 'contacts, respectively, an insulating cover member extending across said recesses, a center contact mounted on said cover member, a contact blade mounted on said covermember electrically connected with said center contact and engageable with one of said quick detachable contacts, an

.annular shell contact, and a blade electrically connected with said shell contact and extending through an opening in said cover member into engagement with the other of said quick detachable contacts, the electrical connection between the blade and the shell contact lying substantially outside the cylindrical surface of the annular shell contact, said shell contact and associated blade being mounted on said cover member.

3. A high voltage series socket construction comprising a wiring base and contact member, a pair of wiring terminals mounted thereon, a pair of quick detachable contacts also mounted thereon in electrical connection with said wiring terminals, respectively, said wiring base having a pair of recesses therein for said contacts, respectively, an insulating cover member extending across said recesses, a center contact mounted on said cover member, a contact blade mounted on said cover member electrically connected with said center contact and engageable with one of said quick detachable contacts, an annular shell contact, a blade electrically connected with said shell contact and extending through an opening in said cover member into engagement with the other of said quick detachable contacts, the electrical connection between the blade and the shell contact lying substantially outside the cylindrical surface of the annular shell contact, said shell contact and associated blade being mounted on said cover member, and an insulating sleeve surrounding said shell contact.

4. A high voltage series socket construction comprising a wiring base and contact member, a pair of wiring terminals mounted thereon, a pair of quick detachable contacts also mounted thereon in electrical connection with said wiring terminals, respectively, said wiring base having a pair of recesses therein for said contacts, respectively, an insulating cover member extending across said recesses, a center contact mounted on said cover member, a contact blade mounted on said cover member electrically connected with said center contact and engageable with one of said quick detachable contacts, an annular shell contact, a blade electrically connected with said shell contact and extending through an opening in said cover member into engagement with the other of said quick detachable contacts, the electrical connection between the blade and the shell contact lying substantially outside the cylindrical surface of the annular shell contact, said shell contact and associated blade being mounted on said cover member, an insulating sleeve surrounding said shell contact, and securing means extending through said sleeve and cover member and anchored to said wiring base.

5. A high voltage series socket construction comprising a Wiring base and contact member, a pair of wiring terminals mounted thereon, a pair of quick detachable contacts also mounted thereon in electrical connection with said wiring terminals, respectively, said wiring base having a pair of recesses therein for said contacts, respectively, an insulating cover member extending across said recesses, a center contact mounted on said cover member, a contact blade mounted on said cover member electrically connected with said center contact and engageable with one of said quick detachable contacts, an annular shell contact, a blade electrically connected with said shell contact and extending through an opening in said cover member into engagement with the other of said quick detachable contacts, the electrical connection between the blade and the shell contact lying substantially outside the cylindrical surface of the annular shell contact, said shell contact and associated blade being mounted on said cover member, an insulating sleeve surrounding said shell contact, the connection between said shell contact and blade lying between the cover member and the insulating sleeve.

REUBEN B. BENJAMIN. 

